It's 6:10 p.m October, just days before the U.S. elections. Before the clock hits 6:29 p.m., 11 political ads will have aired on the local NBC channel in Columbus, Ohio.
One tells voters that Democratic President Barack Obama has not plan for the country. Another suggests that policies of Republican candidate Mitt Romney would undermine the future for America's children.
Yet another says Romney would effectively deny many women crucial cancer screenings by proposing cuts to Planned Parenthood. The very next ad calls Obama an extremist on abortion who supports leaving babies out to die.
The presidential race is now a fight in eight or so politically divided swing states, but nowhere than Ohio. Amid the campaign's closing days, the state has become an arena for credibility-stretching banter, and a testing center for the growing science of political advertising.
The most expensive campaign in U.S. history and the free-spending independent groups that have poured more than $200 million into political ads - many of them directed at Ohio - have given analysts a high-profile chance to some simmering questions about such ads.
Among them: How many ads is too many, before viewers tune them out? And what do campaign ads lead voters to do, exactly?
No comments:
Post a Comment